Beautiful

This morning when I woke up the song 'Something Beautiful' by Needtobreathe was running through my mind.  You know when you get a song stuck & it won't let go?  Yep, that's where I was.  At least it's not 'Do you know the muffin man'.

We all want something beautiful in our lives.  I'm not talking about the things we have.  I'm talking about life.  I want a beautiful life, but the problem is:  life is messy.  (and can be very ugly)  Ask the child who's parents are divorced, or has had a parent pass away.  Ask the adult who has lost their job and doesn't know how they are going to take care of their family.  Ask the orphan, the homeless, the abused,  the addict, the outcast, the hurting.  Ask the Japanese people who have survived the earthquake, tsunami, and aftershocks among other things.  Do these people not want a beautiful life too?   I am not so different from any of these groups.  It might be one decision that makes the difference...and it might not even be a decision that I made for myself, but one someone made for me.  Life is messy.  The best laid plans and turn bad in a minute.

This is where God's grace and goodness come in.  In the bible we read in Jeremiah 29:11:  "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not hurt you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Ok, so if God has only good planned for me, why does all this bad stuff happen?  Two words:  fallen creation.  Our hope and future are not based on anything in this world, it's based on the promise that we will spend eternity in heaven.  (John 14:1-3)  So even if your life is a living hell, because Jesus came to pay the price for our sins, it's the only one you'll ever face.

How can we get something beautiful from something bad?  John 16:33 says it so well: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  Jesus doesn't say if you have trouble, He says you will have trouble.  Your life will be messy.  Do you see where it says that 'in me you may have peace'?  No matter what is going in my life I know my hope and peace are found in Jesus.

There are good things that come from hard times.  Um, come again, please...  Yes, good things do come from hard times.  You may not be able to see God at first in those hard times, but He's there.  He has promised to never leave you.  (Deut 31:6 & 8)  God has told us that in our trials we develop hope. (Romans 5:1-5; James1:2-4; 2 Thess 1:4; Hebrews 12:1-3)  Hope does not disappoint.  Our hope is Christ.

I just want something beautiful.  I see Jesus and know that He is my something beautiful!

In Him,
~Ashley